Marijuana Arrests: The Gateway to Mass Incarceration

Netroots Nation

Every 48 seconds someone is arrested for marijuana possession in the United States. Most of these arrests are of people of color, despite the fact that white people use and sell marijuana at higher rates.

This panel, featuring the Drug Policy Alliance's Kassandra Frederique and moderated by VOCAL-NY's Alyssa Aguilera, explores how the drug war and biased policing practices fuel marijuana arrests and, in turn, mass incarceration. We discuss how in New York City, the Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World, communities are organizing to end marijuana arrests and reverse the collateral consequences haunting the nearly half a million New Yorkers now living with criminal records.

We approach our work from an explicit racial justice perspective—and will share how we insert ourselves into the white-male-dominated marijuana reform world—to message our campaign, build leadership of directly impacted communities, and pass innovative policies and laws to end racist marijuana arrests in New York.